Re: QR going national?

["Alex Borodin" <yaropolk@hotmail.com>]

< Tell > wrote in message <38207b59.4006841@news.ozemail.com.au>...
>"Peter Cook" <glt0145@ozemail.com.au> wrote:
>>
>> It's not that QR won't let competition in it's just that no-one does it
>> better in the sunshine state than QR. we run the best Heavy Haul service
>> (Coal), Long distance Passenger trains and Intermodal transport
operation.
>> To continue to supply these services we have to grow. But i would like to
>> see expansion into the mining industry.
>
>
>In one word Peter, BULLSHIT, nobody is allowed on the
>Queensland skinny gauge except QR, give us a break.


What about Airtrain? Airtrain are planning to be running trains down to the
Gold Coast directly from Brisbane Airport via the city stations. From the
City onwards, they are running on the same track as QR trains and therefore
are in direct competition with them.

As for elsewhere, one or two applications for a freight operator were made
but were knocked back because the companies in question didn't want to meet
QR's safety standards, and simply wanted to hire QR staff and locos to run
their railway for them - in other words, it would simply be QR providing
everything for this 3rd party op at a reduced cost so that they could
compete with QR... where's the sense in that? In any case there hasn't
really been a big rush by 3rd party operators to go for the freight market
because they really have no idea what sort of market they are entering in
Queensland. It's an unusual state - large, highly decentralised and
populated sparsely outside of the cities. It's not heavily industrialised,
so most of the freight is centred on a few commodities, which are seasonal.
The risk vs profit ratio is a big unknown for 3rd party operators.

As for the coal lines, one can hardly conceive anyone running coal on narrow
guage lines any more efficiently than it is already. Record coal haulages
have made it a tough act to follow profitably.

The only part of the market left for 3rd party ops is the passenger sector,
and there, you have got to admit, any 3rd party ops have a very hard act to
follow. There's really no-one in this country who can provide the standard
of excellence acheived by Traveltrain in all of its long and medium distance
passenger trains or the GSPE joint venture, is there?

Your cynicism is unfounded.

Alex